Apple Acquires Augmented Reality Company Metaio

If you have been following the tech scene, you have probably heard of the company called Metaio. They specialize in augmented reality technology and previously we have seen their works in the form of interactive catalogues as well as dynamic car showrooms where more information about a car can be pulled up by pointing a camera at it.

Interestingly enough it turns out that Apple might have plans for augmented reality technology as it has recently been discovered by TechCrunch that Apple has acquired the company. This came about when a legal document was spotted online in which it shows Metaio transferring its shares over to Apple on the 21st of May in what seemed like an acquisition.

Apple has since confirmed the acquisition but has not shared anything more other than a boilerplate statement. “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.” It is unclear as to what Apple might have planned for the company or why they might want augmented reality technology.

However off the top of our heads, we are thinking it might have something to do with their Maps app. In fact a couple of days ago, 9to5Mac reported that Apple could be thinking about introducing augmented reality to its Points of Interest feature of its Maps service, but whether or not that comes to fruition remains to be seen.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple
Tags: Augmented Reality (AR), metaio